In front of the soldiers, Wang Shixian forced himself to say some serious words.
But his palms were sweaty because he held the belt around his waist tightly while speaking, leaving wet marks on the belt. He also didn't notice that the dusk sunlight shone on his forehead, making it look like sweat stains glistened on his forehead.
The marching speed of the Mongolian army's outpost completely exceeded his expectations.
Wang Shixian is not a Han. He is from the Bai Ta tribe in Gongchang Prefecture. He is an expert in cavalry. But he really didn't expect that the Mongolian army's outpost would arrive today!
This is too fast!
It was a distance of two hundred and fifty miles from Yidu to Haicang Town, so the soldiers sent by Guo Zhongyuan to report the news worked hard. They walked for more than a day and the horses were very tired. If the main force of the Mongolian army stays in the Zouping and Changshan areas of Zizhou as predicted, then the journey to Haicang Town will be at least 390 miles, or 400 miles.
But the Mongolian army's outpost arrived at Haicang Town only one hour later than Guo Zhongyuan's messenger!
How could it be so mysterious?
What kind of cavalry can travel four hundred miles at such high speed? Has a person gained wings and soared into the clouds? Or did the horse give birth to eight legs?
Wang Shixian shook his head violently to drive away these useless thoughts.
His mind was racing.
Since the outpost cavalry has arrived now, the main force of the Mongolian army will enter Laizhou territory at noon tomorrow at the latest. In other words, starting tomorrow, there will be a fierce battle.
If you think about it from another angle, there is another situation that the Mongolian army still entered Laizhou so quickly even though it was certain that the main force of the navy was coming from Yidu.
That is, the consecutive victories after penetrating into the Central Plains made the Mongolian army's confidence expand to a terrifying level. They were no longer afraid of attacking cities.
Not only did they plan to annihilate their main force in field battles, but they also stormed various military forts along the coast of Laizhou at the same time. It's even possible... they would consider pacifying Laizhou first, and then turn around and defeat the Ding navy in the field!
Damn it, the black Tatars are really shaking now!
The next battle will not be easy to fight!
Wang Shixian had a cold face and issued orders repeatedly:
"The order is given, all camps will march according to the military law, and all the garrisoned camps will take over the command. Those who panic will be severely punished, and those who flee without authorization will be killed."
"Instructions are given that the wood and stones left in each camp should be immediately moved and stacked outside the camp walls for transportation."
"Guns, knives and other weapons will be distributed immediately. No matter men, women, old or young, no one can be left empty-handed."
"Zhang Jiao led hundreds of swordsmen and axemen, all armed with large shields, and immediately guarded the wooden bridge on the ditch to the west of the camp, carrying fences along the way to block the passage."
"Chen Heng led his troops and climbed up the auxiliary wall to guard and defend. Yu Xiaowu led the archers and climbed up the main wall to provide cover."
"The rest will be assembled and on standby."
In an instant, Wang Shixian issued more than a dozen orders. As one officer after another took the order, the camp, which was originally in a state of panic and almost boiling, immediately calmed down.
Wang Shixian is also a senior military officer.
When it comes to charging into battle, he considers himself not outstanding among Guo Ning's troops. But in the past twenty years, he had gone through two military divisions and two recruiting divisions, fought with Song people, Xia people, and Black Tartars, and also managed local forces. So that no one can surpass him.
Therefore, Guo Ning often entrusts him with the task of guarding the base camp, which is also a sign of trust.
However, in the past, Guo Ning always charged into the battle, and Wang Shixian sat at the rear; this time, it was Wang Shixian who was in the front, and Guo Ning had time to rest in the back...
Wang Shixian couldn't help but glance at the highland fort to the north of the camp.
I have always admired Guo Liulang's talent, but that does not mean that I, Wang, am incompetent. These days, let's see how I use my troops! Even if they were rolling all over the ground, they would still take off a few Mongolian skins!
Just as I was thinking this, several officers nearby shouted: "It's coming! It's coming! The Mongolian army is approaching!"
In just a few moments while Wang Shixian was arranging his men, Aljinchi of the Mongolian army did not slow down at all and rushed straight towards the camp!
Figure it out! You are sentinels! What is this for?
How could a mere hundred riders have such courage? Are all the Mongols crazy?
"Let Zhang Jiao hurry up! Seize the wooden bridge immediately!" Wang Shixian turned around and took a look, his face turned pale with shock. He pointed at the leader of the soldiers beside him: "Take fifty soldiers and support Zhang Jiao quickly! "
Before Zhang Jiao joined the Ding Navy, he was an officer in the Xi Army based in Anzhou. After the death of Xiao Haohu, the leader of the Xi Army, Zhang Jiao sought refuge with Tu Shanhang, the governor of Anzhou. Because Wang Shixian was responsible for liaison with Tu Shanhang at that time, he also developed a little friendship with Wang Shixian.
After the Mongolian army invaded, Anzhou soldiers were defeated and fell. Zhang Jiao escaped by chance and fled to Zhong like many defeated soldiers. As a result, he was tossed for more than a month and finally became a member of the Ding navy recruited by Guo Zhongyuan. The ups and downs experienced during this period make people lament the impermanence of fate.
Because he was an old friend of Wang Shixian, Zhang Jiao became a leader under Wang Shixian. He had a number of swordsmen and axemen under his command. In the past few days, he was mainly responsible for maintaining the daily order in the camp and supervising the construction of some facilities.
The more important one is the wooden bridge on the west side of the camp, spanning the inner and outer trenches. Originally, it was planned to set up a suspension bridge here, but due to time constraints, a simple wooden bridge was built with thick wooden boards to make do.
As a result, the wooden bridge became a weak point in the trench and had to be blocked quickly.
Zhang Jiao rushed towards the wooden bridge to the west with his knife and axemen. Along the way, fifty people separated, took a slight detour, and carried out two antlers about ten feet long to a camp.
According to common sense, this doesn't take much time and won't delay anything.
But God knows what kind of madness that team of Mongolian cavalry went crazy, and they ran at full speed towards the wooden bridge regardless of the situation, pretending to be relying on hundreds of cavalry to break the formation.
Zhang Jiao's troops were still dozens of steps away from the wooden bridge. Smoke and dust were already billowing outside the camp, and the sound of hoofbeats was rumbling.
Then the black-armored cavalry shot out of the smoke, like a huge black arrow, running straight towards the wooden bridge!
There is no such quick way!
At this moment, Yu Xiaowu's archers were still running wildly on top of the main wall, still twenty or thirty feet away. Seeing that the situation was not good, some archers fired their bows while running, but the arrows were deflected and had no effect at all.
We can't let them storm the camp! Damn, these Mongolians are beasts. Once they are allowed to rush in, I don’t know how many people will die in the camp!
Zhang Jiao's eyes turned red. In a daze, he recalled the scene when Anzhou City was broken and the soldiers and civilians of Hecheng were bloody and bloody. He roared at the top of his lungs: "Hold it! Go up! Hold it with your shield!"
Amidst the roar, Zhang Jiao abandoned his straight sword and rushed forward with his large shield on his shoulders, intending to insert himself diagonally in front of the cavalry.
The large shield he held was specially used to intimidate war horses. It was painted with bright animal faces, which was extremely ferocious. As long as the horses are frightened and the cavalry slows down a little, the antlers behind them will drop. Then the archer comes again, and things get easier.
Encouraged by Zhang Jiao, the subordinates all raised their shields high and marched forward bravely. After running a few steps, they heard the dull sound of bones breaking, followed by screams that were not like human voices.
It turned out that the Mongolian cavalry charge was so fierce that a majestic black horse directly knocked Zhang Jiao away.
Zhang Jiao just landed and rolled twice. His shield split into two pieces, spinning separately and flying several feet away. His right arm was pressed against the inside of the shield until the bones at the shoulder blade were completely broken.
The excruciating pain made him scream out. However, just after shouting, the horse team caught up, and more than ten horses trampled on Zhang Jiao with their iron hooves.
Zhang Jiao's scream suddenly became louder, and soon became silent again. When the cavalry passed by, only a pile of odd-shaped scattered flesh and blood was left in the center of the dirt road.
The other sword and shield players were horrified, how to stop them? Dozens of people dispersed with a roar, then gathered again after a while, only to chase after the cavalry, brandishing swords and shouting.
Although there were only a hundred Mongolian cavalry, their power was extremely frightening. They were like a smelly black whirlwind, moving forward along the road between the camps.
At the front of the cavalry, a big Mongolian man riding a black horse and wearing black iron mesh and patent leather armor shouted wildly, like a thunderbolt exploding on the ground: "Haha! Haha! Amutata! Amutata!"
This is Mongolian, meaning "Kill! Quick!"
Wang Shixian is very talented in languages, including Mongolian, Tangut, and Jurchen. Of course he understood, so he became particularly angry and his face suddenly darkened.
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